DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
1. Acknowledgement is made to the response, filed 2/2/2026. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. Acknowledgement is made to the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/24/2026. The information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
3. Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sharma et al. (US 2016/0100368 A1), hereinafter Sharma.
Regarding claim 1, Sharma discloses an energy harvesting tape comprising:
a plurality of flexible layers configured to capture differing types of energy [0067 & 0087-0093], and
one or more processing units on at least one of the plurality of flexible layers, the one or more processing units being configured to use captured energy from the plurality of flexible layers to transmit radiofrequency signals [0071, 0072, & 0093-0095].
Regarding claim 2, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 1, further comprising an energy storage device, wherein the energy storage device is either i) attached to a first end of the energy harvesting tape or ii) included on one of the plurality of flexible layers [0067 & 0087-0093].
Regarding claim 3, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 2, wherein the energy storage device includes a rechargeable printed battery [0028].
Regarding claim 4, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 2, further comprising a rectification circuit between two of the plurality of flexible layers and the energy storage device [0106 & 0108].
Regarding claim 5, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 1, further comprising an attachment means on an edge of a first end and an edge of a second end opposite the first end, the attachment means being configured to couple to a surface [0172-0175].
Regarding claim 6, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 5, wherein the energy harvesting tape is configured to vibrate when the attachment means is coupled to the surface [0028, 0087-0093, & 0113].
Regarding claim 7, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 1, wherein the one or more processing units are configured to transmit radiofrequency signals configured to power a set of identifying passive tags [0101-0106].
Regarding claim 8, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 1, wherein the plurality of flexible layers is assembled directly atop one another [0172-0175].
Regarding claim 9, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 1, further comprising one or more adhesive layers between the plurality of flexible layers [0172-0175].
Regarding claim 10, Sharma discloses an energy harvesting tape comprising:
a plurality of flexible layers including:
a primary layer configured to capture at least one of mechanical or radiofrequency energy and to transmit radiofrequency signals [0067 & 0087-0093]; and
one or more additional layers, wherein each of the one or more additional layers are configured to capture one of i) solar energy, ii) thermal energy, or iii) mechanical energy [0067 & 0087-0093].
Regarding claim 11, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 10, wherein the primary layer includes an antenna configured to transmit the radiofrequency signals [0101-0106].
Regarding claim 12, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 11, wherein the primary layer is an electrode layer; and the energy harvesting tape further comprises a first electrode pair between the electrode layer and an energy storage device and a second electrode pair between the electrode layer and the antenna [0126-0134].
Regarding claim 13, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 10, wherein the primary layer is configured to capture multi-band radiofrequency energy [0101-0106].
Regarding claim 14, Sharma discloses the energy harvesting tape of claim 10, wherein the primary layer is configured to transmit multi-band radiofrequency signals [0101-0106].
4. Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Khoche (US 2020/0019833 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Khoche discloses a method of manufacturing an energy harvesting tape, the method comprising:
constructing a plurality of energy harvesting layers for a flexible tape segment using one or more roll-to-roll processing techniques, the plurality of energy harvesting layers including a primary layer configured to capture at least one of mechanical or radiofrequency energy and to transmit radiofrequency signals [0049, 0063-0067, & 0075]; and
assembling the plurality of energy harvesting layers directly atop one another to form the energy harvesting tape [0075-0080].
Regarding claim 16, Khoche discloses the method of manufacturing in claim 15, wherein constructing the plurality of energy harvesting layers further includes attaching one or more processing units on one of the plurality of energy harvesting layers [0066-0068 & 0072-0074].
Regarding claim 17, Khoche discloses the method of manufacturing in claim 15, further comprising determining a length of the energy harvesting tape based on a target frequency for capture [0052-0054].
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 18-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding independent claim 18, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest a method of manufacturing an energy harvesting tape, the method comprising constructing a plurality of energy harvesting layers for a flexible tape segment using one or more roll-to-roll processing techniques, the plurality of energy harvesting layers configured to capture differing types of energy, wherein the constructing includes attaching one or more processing units on one or more of the plurality of energy harvesting layers, the one or more processing units configured to use captured energy to transmit radiofrequency signals, and assembling the plurality of energy harvesting layers directly atop one another to form the energy harvesting tape.
Dependent claims 19 & 20 are allowable by virtue of their dependencies.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
6. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAULTEP SAVUSDIPHOL whose telephone number is (571)270-1301. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F,7-3 EST. If the examiner cannot be reached by telephone, he can be reached through the following email address: paultep.savusdiphol@uspto.gov
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone and email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael G. Lee can be reached on (571) 272-2398. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAULTEP SAVUSDIPHOL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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